Listen "192 - Combating Emotional Numbness"
Episode Synopsis
In this episode, Cindy Esliger addresses emotional numbness: that lack of joy and quiet disconnection from the person we once were. It often begins as a way to cope with deadlines, expectations, and the constant pressure to prove ourselves. Then staying busy becomes an acceptable way to avoid feeling our feelings. We’re polished on the outside, numb on the inside. How exactly does it show up, and why are high-achieving women especially prone to it? Cindy explores the origins of this numbness and what it means for our futures when feeling nothing starts to feel normal. When we arrive at emotional numbness, everything just feels flat. Nothing shakes us out of the emotional flatlining: not the hobbies we love or even the vacation we’ve been planning. It’s like we decided just to function and remove feelinCindy Esliger, career coach, sabotage, success, career coaching, career journey, emotional numbness, high-achieving women, coping mechanisms, career burnout, emotional disconnection, female leadership, emotional intelligence, workplace stress, mental health at work, nervous system response, signs of emotional numbing, emotional literacy tips, breaking toxic productivity, boundary setting for career women, addressing emotional fatigueg from the process. We’re not happy, not sad, not annoyed; we simply exist. Cindy unpacks why this happens. From not being taught how to deal with our feelings to equating strength with stoicism, there are many reasons we slip into disconnection.Cindy points out four common myths that keep us stuck in emotional numbness: 1. I shouldn’t feel like this, 2. I just need to stay positive, 3. Showing emotion is a weakness, and 4. Other people make me feel this way. Pretending we’re fine is not the same as being fine. The first thing Cindy points out is that we need to understand what emotions are actually for. She outlines what emotional literacy is and offers advice on how to reconnect to what we’re actually feeling so we can experience our emotions, instead of burying them. Resources discussed in this episode:Guide to Feeling AgainAstronomic AudioConfidence Collective—Contact Cindy Esliger Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
More episodes of the podcast Stop Sabotaging Your Success
200 - You Deserve Better Than This
08/01/2026
199 - More Than You've Ever Imagined
01/01/2026
198 - Step Back From the Brink of Burnout
25/12/2025
197 - Striving For Perfection
18/12/2025
196 - What's The Worst That Could Happen?
11/12/2025
195 - We Are Not All Meant To Manage People
04/12/2025
194 - How Are You Doing, Really
27/11/2025
193 - You Will Have To Work With Them
20/11/2025
190 - Bring Clarity To Chaos
30/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.